PDA

View Full Version : Bill passage is a win for gun makers



Knimrod
10-23-2005, 10:31 AM
Bill passage is a win for gun makers
Bush to sign measure shielding industry from liability suits
October 21, 2005
BY JENNIFER A. DLOUHY
HEARST NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON -- The gun industry scored a major victory Thursday when Congress gave final approval to legislation protecting firearms dealers and makers from a broad swath of civil liability lawsuits.

The bill, which the House passed 283-144, now goes to President George W. Bush, who has said he'll sign it. The Senate passed the same bill in July.

Republican lawmakers began pressing for the legislation in 1999, after New Orleans, Chicago and other cities went after handgun makers in court to get them to pay for the costs of gun violence.

The lawsuits -- modeled after litigation against the tobacco industry -- hinged on the notion that guns are a public nuisance and that their makers and dealers should take precautions in selling them. Suits by Detroit and Wayne County were dismissed last year.

Critics -- led by the National Rifle Association and its mostly Republican allies in Congress -- said the suits were designed to put legal, responsible gun makers out of business. They argue that even if gun makers ultimately prevail in court, the companies would end up paying hefty lawyers' fees to defend themselves.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., said the lawsuits are a bid to "bankrupt the national firearms industry and deny all Americans their fundamental, constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms."

In a statement after the House vote, Bush said: "Our laws should punish criminals who use guns to commit crimes -- not law-abiding manufacturers of lawful products."

Gun-control advocates said the bill takes aim at legitimate lawsuits, not just frivolous claims.

"What it actually does is protect those gun dealers who are engaged in wrongful, negligent sales of weapons to criminals," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "It's protecting the bad apples."

The legislation would bar liability suits -- whether filed in state or federal courts -- against gun makers, distributors, dealers and importers. Any suits pending in court would be dismissed when Bush signs the bill.

Suits alleging breach of contract still could go forward.

The bill's passage represents the latest blow to a gun-control movement that reached its peak in the early 1990s, when Congress passed a ban on assault weapons and a mandatory waiting period before guns could be purchased. The 10-year-old ban expired last year.

Sen. Larry E. Craig, R-Idaho, who sponsored the liability-shield legislation and sits on the NRA Board of Directors, said gun-rights advocates are gaining ground. "We are not out of the mainstream anymore," he said.

In the Michigan delegation, all nine Republicans and Democrats John Dingell and Bart Stupak voted for the House bill. The other four Democrats voted against it.

Link to story (http://www.freep.com/news/politics/guns21e_20051021.htm)